February 1

What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me ?-Ps. cxvi. 12.

Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.— S. JAMES i. 17.

S.

BERNARD says, 'The angels are not only with you, but for you. They are with you to protect you, they are with you to help you. What should you render unto the Lord for all the benefits that He hath done unto you? For to Him alone be the honour and glory. Why to Him alone? Because it is He Who so orders it, from Whom is every perfect gift. Nevertheless, although it is He Who gives His angels charge over us, yet it is they who with such love obey His bidding, and succour us in all our necessities. Let us therefore cultivate a pious and grateful spirit towards our noble guardians; let us love and honour them as much as we can and as is fitting. All we have said is in commendation of the service of the angels, their help, and the power of prayer. Keep these things in memory, and testify your reverence for the presence of the holy angels to the best of your power.

S. BONAVENTURE.

EAR angel! ever at my side,

DEA

How loving must thou be,

To leave thy home in heaven to guard
A guilty wretch like me.

Thy beautiful and shining face

I see not, though so near;

The sweetness of thy soft low voice
I am too deaf to hear.

I cannot feel thee touch my hand
With pressure light and mild,
To check me, as my mother did
When I was but a child.

But I have felt thee in my thoughts
Fighting with sin for me;

And when my heart loves God, I know
The sweetness is from thee.

And when, dear Spirit! I kneel down
Morning and night to prayer,
Something there is within my heart
Which tells me thou art there.

Yes! when I pray thou prayest too,
Thy prayer is all for me;

But when I sleep, thou sleepest not,
But watchest patiently.

And thou in life's last hour wilt bring
A fresh supply of grace,
And afterwards wilt let me kiss
Thy beautiful bright face.

Ah me! how lovely they must be
Whom God has glorified;

Yet one of them, oh sweetest thought!
Is ever at my side.

Then, for thy sake, dear angel! now
More humble will I be :

But I am weak, and, when I fall,
Oh, weary not of me.

Then love me, love me, angel dear!
And I will love thee more;

And help me when my soul is cast
Upon the eternal shore.

F. W. FABER.

February 2

And he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. . . . And behold an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.- -1 KINGS xix. 4, 5.

The very hairs of your head are all numbered.S. MATT. x. 30.

PART of that vivifying power which I found in

the angel's words came of this-they restored to me that personal part of mine in the universe, that claim to go for something as an individual soul, which certain social theories acting in one way and some scientific discoveries in another have somewhat tended to disparage. If angels cared about me, and were happier or sadder on my account, looking on me as a being who might some day be one of themselves, then clearly I did not count for nothing; I was neither merged in a mass, nor was I a mere waif or stray tossed up on the shore of the world. I had come into it with a business to do, which was different from anybody else's, and must be done by me.

REV. H. LATHAM.

N the hours of morn and even,

IN

In the noon and night,

Trooping down they come from heaven
In their noiseless flight

To guide, to guard, to warn, to cheer us
'Mid our joys and cares,

All unseen are hovering near us
Angels unawares.

When the daylight is declining

In the western skies,

And the stars in heaven are shining
As the twilight dies,

Voices on our hearts come stealing
Like celestial airs,

To our spirit-sense revealing
Angels unawares.

O faint hearts! what consolation
For us here below,
That angelic ministration
Guides us where we go;
Every task that is before us
Some blest spirit shares ;
Watchful eyes are ever o'er us,
Angels unawares.

February 3

J. F. WALLER.

Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Take ye heed of him, and hearken unto his voice.-EXOD. xxiii. 20, 21.

THE HE Sacred Scriptures are Divine Truth. They are not merely general truths. They are specific, personal. Every man and woman can take any promise, any threat, any law of life or death, and say, That law is the principle of my life; that promise was made to me; it is given to me as directly and personally as it would be if I were the only child of my heavenly Father. In the light of this truth what a precious promise the Lord sends to us this morning! Suppose an angel, as glorious as the one whom John saw, had come to you this morning, and addressing you by name, had delivered this message from your heavenly Father, written in letters of light? Would not your heart bound with joy? Would not your face be all glowing with delight?

THE

REV. CHAUNCEY GILES.

'HE air of Paradise did fan the house
And angels officed all.

SHAKESPEARE.

TILL He sent a sudden angel, with a glorious, sweet evangel,

Who turned all my tears to pearl-gems, and crowned me-so little worth;

Me!--and through the rainy even changed my poor earth into heaven,

Or, by wondrous revelation, brought the heavens down to earth.

O the strangeness of the feeling!-O the infinite revealing

To think how God must love me to have made me so content!

Though I would have served him humbly, and patiently, and dumbly,

Without any angel standing in the pathway that I went.

MRS. CRAIK.

February 4

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.-ISA. Ixiii. 9.

Ho OW you would ponder upon the Divine promise! What courage would fill your heart! Whom shall I fear? My father has promised that His angels will take charge of me. What strength would invigorate every faculty! I shall never fall; mighty hands are under me to hold me up. With what eager delight you would show the message to your friends! 'See what my heavenly Father has sent me! Farewell doubt, and care, and anxious fears!' would be your exulting cry. Unerring wisdom will guide me to eternal life. Our Father does send

this message to us. Let us reflect upon it. Let us look into its particulars, and try more fully to understand the reality, nature, and blessedness of its import.

REV. CHAUNCEY GILES.